Published 7:22 pm, Thursday, June 12, 2014

HARTFORD >> Former Mansfield Democratic state Rep. Jonathan Pelto is making it official, saying he’ll be a candidate for Connecticut governor.

The third-party candidate is currently collecting the 7,500 signatures needed to petition his way on to the November ballot as a member of the Education and Democracy Party. West Hartford Republican Joe Visconti is also collecting signatures. They each face an Aug. 6 deadline.

Pelto announced Thursday he converted his exploratory committee into a candidate committee for governor. He is running on a ticket with Hartford educator Ebony Murphy.

Pelto has been a critic of Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, especially his education policies, but denies wanting to be a spoiler and help Malloy lose.

Asked about Pelto’s candidacy Malloy said, “other people have the right to do what they want.”